Digital badges as (parts of) digital portfolios: Design patterns for educational and personal learning practice

Abstract

This chapter explores the concepts of digital badges as (parts of) digital portfolios and proposes two digital design patterns for badges-portfolio integration. Digital portfolios are dynamic collections of digital artefacts including work samples, learning resources, records of skills and accomplishments, which may be created by an individual, a group, a community or an organisation. Digital portfolios can have multiple purposes, such as demonstrating learning achievements (assessment), recording a learning process (journaling) and demonstrating skills (profiling). The different models of digital portfolio practice represent different approaches to documenting, recognising and enhancing learning. Digital badges are similar to digital portfolios in that they enable learners to document and share learning pathways, learning achievements, skills and competencies. Digital badges can be used as part of digital portfolios or as stand-alone portfolios in form of badge collections. Based on the analysis of current practice, conceptual guideline for designing digital badges as (parts of) digital portfolios are drafted following the model of reflective learning design with design narratives and design patterns as a core methodology. Design patterns propose solutions to recurrent problems in particular contexts, offering a set of principles to guide the instructional designer towards a design decision. As such design patterns are models for actual design activities. Design patterns presented in this chapter are inferred from the analysis of design narratives from three selected projects employing digital badges for learning in distinctive ways. By defining design problems and design solutions related to digital badges as (parts of) digital portfolios, this chapter integrates research-based evidence and experiential knowledge of digital learning design.